Visitor Opinions
"It has been for me a truly unforgettable experience visiting this fabulous mandir. Its architecture and spiritual symbolism are genuinely exceptional. And long may it continue to serve the community."
Emeka Auyaoku, General Secretary, The Commonwealth
"Hi, My wife and I visited your amazing Mandir a week ago and just wanted to say thank you for an incredible visit. The staff were friendly and helpful; we learned a lot and enjoyed the time immensely."
Bennett Tony
A. J. Bennett DCR(R); MSc
Superintendent Practitioner in Nuclear Medicine
West Suffolk Hospital
21 March 2011
"It is a great privilege to visit the temple. It is really a fantastic place to visit and one can get peace in mind while in the temple. The cleanliness and maintenance of temple is appropriate. The architecture is a thing of beauty to keep in mind. The temple is doing a great service to Hindu culture in particular as well as mankind in general."
M Sadananda Nayak
Executive Director
Punjab National Bank (International)
9 March 2011
"It was a great pleasure to visit this sacred temple. It is indeed my good fortune that my students brought me here. The temple is immaculate and its cleanliness is admirable. I pray to God and Bhagwan Swaminarayan to give me another chance to visit this great temple of pure intent, sacred environment and a perfect message."
Dr Sreena Shah
Dean of Student Affairs
SMU Grand Cayman
29 January 2010
"I must say from the bottom of my heart that visiting this temple as a centre of Hindu faith and religion has been one my life’s profoundly satisfying experiences. It makes one aware of the immense wisdom religion bestows on people and values which we as human beings should live with in order to make this world a place worth living. My namaskars and best wishes to everyone who is making this establishment a model for its devotees and others."
Uday M Chitak Chartered Accountant Human House, Mumbai 2 May 2009
"Wow! I find myself groping for adjectives to describe the awesome feeling inside me on seeing this astounding temple, representing the richness of Hinduism and the great magnificence of its temple architecture. I feel it my privilege to have got a darshan in this great temple and appreciate the efforts by the Swaminarayan Trust in so many fields of social service. I wish them all the best."
D. Nagendra Kumar
Superintendent of Police & ADC to Governer
Raj Bhavan
13 November 2008
"This is the best and the most wonderful and beautiful temples I have ever been to. The ambience here is wonderful and the hospitality which I received here was excellent. The volunteers here are doing a wonderful job and I wish them all the very best in their respective endeavours."
Rahul Gupta, IAS
District Development Officer
Anand
24 October 2008
"What a wonderful expression of love this London Mandir is. A unifying force for all the people of Indian descent in England. To a country that some in India may say “stole the crown jewel from India” Pramukh Swami has said, “Here, I give you the crown jewel of my religion.”"
Late Ron Patel, Editor, Phildelphia Inquirer, USA.
"This was an experience par excellence. For the time I remained here I constantly felt the presence of some divine force. The serenity, calmness and ease of the atmosphere gave us a feeling of relief, peace and harmony with the world. The exhibition on Hinduism gave me an idea of how deep the thinking was behind this religion. I go with a feeling of belonging and pray to Bhagwan Swaminarayan to bless me so that I can visit again and again."
Rakesh B. Dubey
Cultural Attache, High Commission of India
India House
4 October 2008
"Coming to Neasden Mandir was a dream come true. It was an amazing experience and truly rewarding. The beauty of this temple is awesome and marvels specially in this part of the world. The journey through the Hindu exhibition was great. Swaminarayan Temple is truly doing a great service to humanity and Hinduism."
Adesh Gupta
CEO Libery Group
21 September 2008
"My mum, husband and myself visited the Mandir on Sunday, as my mum studies Yoga and has become interested in Hinduism. I just wanted to let you know that the visit was very moving and humbling for us and that we were made to feel very welcome even on such a busy day.
As a Christian, this is the first place of worship I have ever visited of a different faith. The atmosphere of the temple was very peaceful and, for me, God was very much present that day.
The exhibition was very informative: Mum told us that she has taken three years to understand through intense study the concepts and history presented in such an accessible way here!
So thank you for making us feel so welcome. I think that we will be back and I & my husband now have an even greater understanding and respect for the Hindu faith & communities."
Jessica Josef
Visitor
15 April 2007
"Fascinating to see another religion/culture in the middle of London. Heartening to see such support from so many different kinds and ages of people especially so many young people. Wonderful charitable program. The warm welcome was appreciated by all of us. We were surprised by your openness and generosity ! As an active Christian I am particularly impressed with so much shared belief."
Elizabeth Bond, Opera Singer
"I just wanted to contact you to let you know how much I really enjoyed my recent visit to the Shri Swaminarayan Mandir last week. My friend and I were struck with the beauty of the building and the friendliness of the people. There was a wonderful atmosphere in the place and it felt so calm and peaceful. I knew nothing about Hinduism before (I admit to only knowing a tiny bit now) but we were made so welcome by everyone and encouraged to look, read and ask questions that we felt totally at ease.
Once again many thanks to everyone. We’ll be back!"
Kelly Lovell
Visitor
27 January 2006
"My family and I have just returned from the visit to London. One of our stop offs was at the Mandir in Neasden. My wife is a teacher with a special interest in world religion, and she had read about your Mandir. To come across a place of such beauty and tranquillity in the suburbs of London was simply amazing. We were totally overawed by the whole experience and thank you for allowing us to visit."
Colin Grainger
Visitor
30 October 2004
"My husband an I visited the Swaminarayan Mandir yesterday, for my birthday treat. I just wanted to tell you that we loved every minute. We both devoured the excellent exhibition, and learned an incredible amount about Hinduism through the ages. It was a really well thought out, informative exhibition.
The building itself is breathtaking. Breathtaking. Thank you for a wonderful and very friendly visit. We’ll be telling our friends to come and visit you too."
Jane.
"There are excellent facilities to worship God and congratulations for this beautiful temple…"
Dr. Bakili Muluzi, President of Malawi
12 Dec 1999
"One of the most remarkable places I have visited in the country – a truly inspiring example of what can be achieved, and the hope and faith that can be given to new generations."
Rt. Hon. William Hague
Leader of Conservative Party
2 Nov 1999
"A truly beautiful and inspirational place…
This is the most remarkable place I have ever seen. I shall never forget this day in my life."
Jimmy Carter
10 Oct 1999
"It was a great honor to be in the presence of the holy and the spiritual building of God."
Michael Jackson
25 July 1999
"Even before entering the mandir, it is impossible to feel the enormous love and devotion that has gone into the building of this magnificent house of prayer for the Hindu faith. I was touched by the peacefulness and tranquillity that surrounds one when passing thorough the doors of the temple, and it is astounding that such beauty was constructed in only three years. My visit was a journey in learning and memory that I will always treasure and I send you, and all who helped to make this such a special time, my heartfelt best wishes."
Diana, Princess of Wales
6 June 1997
"I have been impressed by the exquisite workmanship and the care and love that have gone into the building of this temple."
Dr. George Carey, The Archbishop of Canterbury
13 Dec 1996
"I have never seen such a magnificent work of modern architecture as this. It is a magnificent mandir built thanks to the love and devotion of countless people. It is a place of beauty, a source of inspiration to worship and to reflect. It is a veritable pavilion of peace and of promise."
P.M. Tony Blair, UK
21 June 1996
"It is an exciting and noble addition to the landscape of London, of which you should be justly proud, and it raised my spirit, Ladies and Gentlemen, driving here this evening and turning the corner down that street and seeing this great shining, white building at the end of the street, and I am so glad that you have been able to do this yourselves. … This Mandir reveals in the most vivid way the spirit of all those thousands of hours of dedication and love and sacrifice and skill on the part of so many thousands of people from Britain and all over the world which have come together to make this building possible."
Prince Charles, Prince Of Wales
28 Feb 1996
"This magnificent Temple is one of the wonders of the world; the impact of the Hindu religion has only begun to be felt in Britain. I am very pleased and proud that this wonderful building has been built in Brent. It will become a centre for Hindus throughout the world to visit and be part of the uniquely diverse culture of Brent. This event has demonstrated a message of hope and peace for the whole world."
Richard Branson, The Virgin Group
13 Oct 1995
"I have seen many temples, but none as beautiful as this. Such a temple cannot be built by man, such work is possible only by one possessed by God."
R. Venkataraman, The President of India
18 Aug 1995
Other dignitaries who have visited the London mandir are : HRH Prince Philip – UK, HRH Virendra Vir Vikram – King of Nepal, P.M. Atal Behari Vajpayee – India, President C. Uteem – Mauritius, P.M. A Jaugnath – Mauritius, President Y. Museveni – Uganda, P.M. J.S. Malecela – Tanzania, Evelyn Rothschild – UK, L.N. Mittal – U.K.
Saturday 14 & Sunday 15 September 2024
Diwali Celebrations
Thursday 31 October 2024
Hindu New Year Celebrations
Saturday 2 November 2024
